For Karamjit Singh, age is just a number and at 60, he still has ‘The Right Stuff’ to not only compete in rallies but also become a champion. The younger generation may have physical agility and perhaps even more bravery but this uncle has experience in the sport that goes back over 35 years – before some of them were even born!
Driving a Proton Gen2, Karamjit and co-driver Jagdev Singh were today crowned champions of the 2022 VANTAGE Malaysian National Rally Championship (MNRC). ‘The Flying Sikh’ shows that his age is no barrier (nor is the age of his rallycar which is 15 years old) and has been recognized as Asia’s most successful rally driver.
They say that many good things happen at a bar. And I would agree to that, many good things have taken place at many watering holes. And one of those good things is the topic of this article.
There were three of us at a bar in Petaling Jaya, and one was no other than Malaysian rally legend himself – Karamjit Singh.
We were discussing many things that day, from how rally life was like back then, to how a mechanic forgot to add engine oil during a race, forcing Karamjit out of the race. And to how, despite being 59 years old now, he is faster today than he has ever been, you can watch Karamjit talking about that in the video below.
And then it came in the form of an email, the invite to drive one of the fastest electric cars ever built – the Porsche Taycan. And it struck me, why not get Karamjit to drive it, he was already sitting opposite me anyway.
“Bro, how would you like to drive an electric Porsche at Sepang,” I asked Karam.
The look he gave me was one of disbelief, the type that couldn’t believe I had just asked that question.
“Of course la, I have never driven an electric car before, what more an electric Porsche at Sepang. Im in,” was his reply.
The reply from our friends at Porsche was also of disbelief.
“You sure you want to send Karamjit ah? He will still have to drive like any other member of the media you know, he has to follow a pace car. He won’t be able to drive the car to its limit.”
Yes, Yes, I know, but it will be interesting to see what a rally champion has to say about the Taycan.
A couple of days passed, and I found myself picking up Karamjit and heading to Sepang Circuit at about 8am.
“I usually do the driving,” said Karamjit to me.
“Kinda in a hurry bro, you drive on the way back?” – was my nonchalant reply to this multiple time rally champion, only to realise what I had said a few moments later.
Nevertheless, I got some good driving tips all the way to Sepang.
“It is smaller than what the photos make it look like,” was Karam’s first comment upon seeing the Taycan for the first time.
“It is actually smaller than the Panamera,” was mine.
The Taycan is indeed smaller than the Panamera, and is one of the reasons why it is outselling the Panamera in some markets like the UK. And this is giving rise to speculation that the Panamera could be discontinued if this trend continues and the shift towards electric cars gets stronger.
But that’s a different story.
After breakfast, an introduction to the overall drive program as well as the instructors, all of whom have either worked with Karamjit in a racing capacity, or at some point or another, we got on with the drive.
First up, sitting position. This is where lead Porsche instructor Admi Shahrul demonstrated the ideal sitting position when driving the Taycan or any other car.
From my vantage point (because I was not given a drive seat since I chose to give up my seat for Karam), I found Karam listening attentively. I thought that was incredibly gracious of him, considering he probably understands the importance of sitting positions better than anyone else there that day.
After that came the acceleration test, a part that had some Malaysian motoring journalists and youtubers giggling like girls (insert eye roll emoticon here) after experiencing what is said to be one of the fastest acceleration in a production car this side of a hypercar.
The two cars on hand were the standard Taycan 4S as well as the Taycan Turbo (there was no Turbo S for us to experience that day).
I didn’t expect Karamjit to be fazed by the acceleration, after all this is the man who said that the most powerful car he had ever driven was the Ford Escort Cosworth Group A rally car, which is a proper fire breathing monster that puts out over 300hp at the wheel in a lightened and strengthened body (pictured below).
“The acceleration difference between the two cars is huge,” said Karamjit. There is zero wheel spin despite the Taycan 4S putting out 650Nm of torque (with Performance Battery Plus, and 640Nm without the dearer battery) while the Turbo puts out 850Nm. Of course this is due to the Traction Control and Electronic Stability Control playing a role in keeping the wheels in check during hard acceleration.
There is no telling how the car would have felt with all the electronic safety nets turned off, and if there is anyone that could have tamed an out of control electric car, it would be Karamjit. But there were strict instructions to not turn anything off.
When asked what he thought of the acceleration, Karamjit had this to say, “The Turbo is fantastic, the G-Force is amazing, there is no drama, it accelerates very fast in a straight line and it doesn’t twitch. It is an easy car to drive fast. I love the instance response.”
The next program was a classroom session that explained the intricacy of the Taycan, but after that there was the track drive and that is where Karamjit got to drive both the Taycan 4S and the Turbo around the north track of the circuit.
“You do feel some body roll in the Taycan in normal mode, but in Sport mode the handling is very impressive for such a heavy car. The brakes are not so bad either, this is a car that weighs over two tons so you have to brake much earlier.”
“I also took some corners at over 160km/h and it does feel like you’re driving a race car around some parts of the circuit, this is still a proper Porsche.”
When asked about whether there is anything he didn’t quite like about the Taycan, Karamjit simply pointed out that excessive body roll in normal mode (but perfectly fine in Sport and Sport Plus), and his concerns about charging the car.
“I like this car, there is no doubt that this is a sports car you can drive everyday, but the disadvantage it has is charging it.”
“You have to plan your route very carefully to ensure there are charging points. You then have to spend 20-30 minutes while the car charges up and then point the car towards the next charging station.”
“But in terms of driving, the Taycan is a fantastic experience. I really like the fact that it has four-wheel steering. This minimises the turning circle and makes such a heavy car feel quite agile in corners. I just don’t understand why people need four-wheel-steering to help them park the car.”
But ultimately, what does a rally legend who has spent a huge part of his life with internal combustion engines think of the paradigm shift towards electric cars?
“Electric cars are the future we have to accept that, I used to worry but this is a great example of how awesome an electric car can be. It drives well, it accelerates well, it stops well, and it is still very much a Porsche, and a great Porsche at that.”
Lagenda sukan permotoran negara, Karamjit Singh mengumumkan keputusan untuk kembali aktif dalam arena perlumbaan rali.
Perkara itu diumumkan dalam satu sidang media yang diadakan di Lembah Klang, baru-baru ini.
Karamjit bakal kembali beraksi bersama pasukan tajaan syarikat swasta, Cisco.
Pengarah Urusan Cisco, Rabin Nijhar mendedahkan dia membuat keputusan untuk menghubungi Karamjit selepas membaca artikel mengenai situasi bekas pelumba itu Disember lalu.
“Selepas tahun 2020, ketika saya sedang mencari peluang baharu, saya terbaca kisah Karamjit dan seterusnya kami di Cisco mempunyai peluang unik untuk menawarkan sesuatu.
“Dari situ kami teruja untuk bersatu sebagai rakyat Malaysia bagi memberi sokongan kepada ikon negara,” kata Rabin.
Karamjit akan kembali ke arena rali sejak kali terakhir beraksi pada 2018 dan akan disatukan semula bersama rakan baiknya dan petunjuk arah, Jagdev Singh.
“Rali adalah minat saya dan telah menjadi karier saya sepanjang 30 tahun ini. Saya memandu secara profesional pada 1988 dan hanya baru-baru ini saya sukar untuk mendapatkan penaja.
“Hakikatnya, saya tidak dapat hidup tanpa perlumbaan rali. Ini adalah semangat saya dan saya mahu berlumba seberapa banyak yang mampu,” jelasnya.
Kisah Karamjit kembali mendapat perhatian apabila dia terpaksa mencari rezeki sebagai pemandu e-hailing selepas terpaksa menjual rumah dan tiga kereta kesayangan termasuk duit simpanan wang pekerja (KWSP) bagi menanggung karier perlumbaan ralinya sejak 2012.
Karamjit dan Cisco Racing akan kembali beraksi pada 26 dan 27 Jun ini di Kejuaraan Rali Kebangsaan Malaysia yang akan berlangsung di Sepang.
It was a momentous day for Malaysian motorsport today as local rally legend Karamjit Singh announced his return to active racing.
Karamjit was in the news recently when a local news site reported about the difficulty he faced off the dirt road. Sponsorship dried up and even the local rally championship winded up, and soon after, Covid decimated the world, and any remaining dream of rallying.
The local daily report, which was written by Frankie D’Cruz for Free Malaysia Today , was strongly titled – “Where’s the respect for rally superstar Karamjit Singh?” (click here to read the article), and was equally hard hitting.
The article highlighted the sad state of local motorsport athletes, and the seemingly failure of powers to be of their recognition of putting the country on the world map.
Particularly painful was a report that was carried by multiple media platforms about Karamjit having to turn to e-hailing to make ends meet. This was despite the Youth and Sports Ministry verbally informing Karamjit that he would receive RM5,000 a month for being a world champion. This was back in 2005.
A lot of promises had been made, but none were delivered.
Ultimately what got Karamjit back behind the wheel of a race car, and more determined than ever to succeed, is a local private security company – Cisco.
After reading about Karam’s story in the FMT article last December, Cisco Managing Director Rabin Nijhar (above, left) decided to reach out to Karamjit. What started as a simple job offer quickly evolved into a dream to restore Karamjit’s position as Malaysian Rally Champion, and Cisco Racing was born.
This also means that Karamjit would return to rallying for the first time since 2018, and will partner his long time navigator Jagdev Singh for the first time since Jagdev put away his navigation charts in 2015.
“ After 2020, I was looking for an exciting opportunity when I came across Karam’s story, and we at Cisco were in a unique position to help. As we come out of the Covid Pandemic, Malaysia needs a comeback story to rally behind, and I believe that Karamjit Singh is that story. We are excited to bring Malaysia together to support a true national icon,” said Rabin about how the idea was first mooted.
In a press release distributed by Cisco, Karamjit was quoted as saying, “ I’m very passionate about rallying, it’s been my job for nearly thirty years. I’ve been driving professionally since 1988, it was only up until recently that I’ve had trouble finding sponsors but the fact is, I can’t live without rallying. It is my passion and I just want to rally as much as I can and I am really looking forward to this event and getting back into the groove. I’ve missed rallying so much. ”
And Jagdev said, “ I am absolutely thrilled to get back into the car with Karam and must thank Cisco for giving us the opportunity to get back into competition. Karam and I go back a long way and we first partnered back in 1997, representing Proton and Malaysia in the Asia Pacific Rally of China. Since then we have done many rallies together both locally and internationally, winning nearly every event we entered. I’m certainly looking forward to the first event in June and will put in 100% towards securing a win for us on our return! ”
Cisco and Karamjit Singh are eager to hit the track in the upcoming Malaysian National Rally Championship due to be held on the 26th and 27th of June this year in Sepang.
In an exclusive private interview after the launch, we asked Karam what the difference was between the Karamjit of today and that of 10 years ago. His answer was a simple, “I am faster now than I was then”. Watch the exclusive interview at our Youtube channel, and don’t forget to subscribe to get notified every time we upload a new video about the local motoring scene.
